Memory Bliss
by Nayel
Summary: Frozen to sustain her life because of terrible injury from the newest Armageddon, Pan is somehow thrown into the future. The world now a chaotic ruin, she searches for her parents in destruction, hoping for a sign that they could be alive.


Chapter summary: This is only the prelude, a sort of look into the future of Earth after the Armageddon. This part may be a little boring for most, so I suggest, once the part is up, you move onto chapter one. That is, if it's boring you. To make it a little more interesting, I'll let you know that these two in the prelude are a certain brother and sister of the series (yes, Trunks and Bura). Confused? I know you are.That's the point. ^_^  
  
One more thing- Isha-san means doctor, imoto means little sister, and oniisan means older brother.  
  
Now, (if you're still here) on to the story...*evil laughter*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Empty as the life within...  
  
  
  
Darkness filled the laboratory. It covered tanks and machine - to  
  
endless wires that ran in bundles from every outlet possible -  
  
coating with its thick, heavy blanket. Within the massive room, only  
  
the tiny blinking lights of the few battery-powered items were still  
  
vigilant at such an hour. Tiny, still glows of red, blue and green  
  
breathed in with faint power and out to fade, seeming to nod off  
  
slowly in sleep.  
  
And the silence was nearly as thick as the darkness. It stretched its  
  
gaping fingers even beyond the vicinity, filling the building, whole.  
  
Only the space beneath the tightly locked security entrance allowed  
  
the tiny sliver of light within, willing it to dare its shimmering  
  
entrance. Nevertheless, nothing moved and nothing made even a peep of  
  
a sound to be heard by the ears.  
  
With exception of her shallow breath.  
  
The laboratory room was filled with gadgets and gizmos of all shapes  
  
and kinds. Nearly corner to corner of the floor was wound with the  
  
tight, solid cables that wrapped like venomous snakes around each  
  
other. They rolled and they knotted, trailing off to tables and  
  
different mechanical items, keeping them alive while their master was  
  
away.  
  
Bound and wound, tumbling over and over, this way and  
  
that...Nevertheless, no matter where the cables started, they all  
  
ended at the same obvious destination. The slow hum of power groaned  
  
from their plugs as they met her being and supplied all that was  
  
theirs to her command.  
  
Bending like men to the dominant woman...  
  
The main computer-her very body-rested as the center piece to the  
  
entrancing room that was. Two prime computers at either side  
  
generated the real power, while only a screen rested in between. But,  
  
how striking it was. Her gigantic proportions added to the pound of  
  
fear within the heart, the soul's emersion into the cold awe as eyes  
  
lay upon her body.  
  
However, none of those feeling could ever compare as eyes fell upon  
  
her entrancing face.  
  
Beautiful...One. Simple. Word...upon the tongue. Though the darkness  
  
shrouded her too, nothing else could describe. Her head nearly filled  
  
the whole screen, and only that, proving her a woman with no body but  
  
the wires, data and electricity that ran through her. Trapped within  
  
the metal binds...  
  
Her head was bent. Her eyes were closed. One side of her slightly  
  
shimmering bangs fell to cover her right eye almost shyly in a way,  
  
while the other was nearly equally hidden. Soft features and the  
  
slightly dimpled chin gave her quite the mysterious appeal, holding  
  
the mind's curiosity. Breathing was slow and steady, making this  
  
magnificent creature appear idle like every other machine and toy  
  
within the walls. But, still, not completely so.  
  
For not every machine was equipped with such a mind.  
  
Yes, she was one of a kind indeed. A being that had seen her time...  
  
Silence remained strong...but, the darkness slowly began to creep  
  
backwards, dancing its way to hide in cracks and crevices. The light  
  
pushed, giving shape as the heavy door to the laboratory calmly slid  
  
to the side. Hallway lights shone through, almost dully.  
  
A small, mechanical voice whispered responsibility along with access,  
  
lapsing into silence only once the warning had been made.  
  
He stood in the light with a frown on his face.  
  
"Wake up..."  
  
The whisper was gone as soon as it snuck out from the quiet. Lights  
  
still faintly blinked within the remaining black.  
  
"It's time to wake up..."  
  
His dark silhouette seemed calm as the hallway lights gazed lightly  
  
behind him. His face remained hidden in shadow, his head held high  
  
with staggering pride. Shoulders were square and arms hung limply at  
  
his side, one resting faintly on the metal doorway with almost a  
  
tired appearance.  
  
Nothing responded. Only her shallow breath sung within the jungle of  
  
machine, deliberate and relaxed.  
  
A tiny beep from beyond...its source unknown. One, small light  
  
flickered on within the empty ebony...And...  
  
She was alive!  
  
The face within the screen swiveled up, eyes locking onto their  
  
creator with ferocity. Her head bobbed in the black behind her as  
  
pupils dilated and a slight light engulfed her skin, magnifying the  
  
angelic appearance.  
  
She simply stared towards the body, her expression nearly completely  
  
non- existent. The doctor took a careless step into the room and let  
  
go of the frame, standing freely while leaning on his sturdy steel  
  
cane. His wrinkled fist clutched it possessively. They stared without  
  
words, the doctor shifting as the swoosh of the door closing behind  
  
him echoed loudly. The darkness bit back the light, ensuing its  
  
position.  
  
The woman's face behind the screen was all that barely glowed in the  
  
penetrable night.  
  
"You're up late, Isha. I thought you said you were resting."  
  
Her voice, soft upon the pungent scent within the room-the smell of  
  
burning and electricity in the air. The movement of her lips seemed  
  
bewitching as she mouthed the words with a feminine purr.  
  
"I was..."  
  
She sighed a breathless sigh. Her hair glistened in the mysterious  
  
light as her head dipped with the action.  
  
"Then what are you doing up? It's barely sunrise."  
  
The man slunk from the doorway, making his way to her console. Her  
  
eyes followed him deliberately, the brilliant blue glowing like stars  
  
in the night sky...Though, unlike the stars, they same brilliancy was  
  
not reflected beneath. Only the emptiness that was her, deep within,  
  
could be seen in the spiraling pupils.  
  
"I have things to do...responsibilities."  
  
Her smile slowly crept across the expressionless void. "You always  
  
seem to have these so called 'responsibilities', Isha-san...Why not  
  
leave them behind and get the rest you need."  
  
His anger bubbled as he lowered himself to the cushioned console  
  
chair, resting his cane on the control panel that lay in front. She  
  
looked down upon him, amusement trickling in her gaze with every  
  
casual blink she took.  
  
"Enough! No games tonight..."  
  
"Who's playing?" she whispered. He frowned.  
  
"You know as much as I, the responsibility that lays upon my  
  
shoulders. You realize how little time..."  
  
"What is it that you came here for."  
  
He looked up into her massive eyes, feeling her gaze penetrating his  
  
skin, watching his blood pump its ugly black through veins, watching  
  
his muscles shiver with the strain of fatigue. And he himself  
  
penetrated all that was her, seeing the slight pain and concern in  
  
her eyes...  
  
He saw the invisible tears that never could be...never could  
  
fall...because she was only machine.  
  
"Imoto..." he whispered. A wrinkled hand lifted to place itself on  
  
her hard, metallic console. Buttons and signal lights slowly lit up  
  
and flickered around the limb, almost in recognition.  
  
"I have something to say...Something that needs to be heard."  
  
"Mmm..." Her eyes closed in an unreadable emotion, opening to slivers  
  
and then shutting with a smile upon her thin lips. The two prime  
  
computers at her side suddenly lit up with startling lights, an array  
  
of colors dancing with themselves. The console in front of the doctor  
  
lit itself as well, casting light over his old face.  
  
"Do you have a specific file you require?"  
  
He closed his eyes as well. "Choose what you think would suit best."  
  
She peeked at him slightly, her mouth falling into a straight line.  
  
Immediately, her head shrunk in size, only taking up less than fifty  
  
percent of the screen. A small box appeared to her left, the  
  
words 'processing request' readable on its gray surface. It  
  
disappeared and the program appeared in its place.  
  
He watched for only a moment, observing her now still face with deep  
  
thought. "Thank-you," was his murmur, the green lines upon the screen  
  
bouncing as it recognized the sound.  
  
"Please begin, Isha-san...I am listening."  
  
"The whole world shall be listening," he whispered in reply, crossing  
  
his fingers in sadness.  
  
"Yes...let us begin."  
  
(Recording started - 324 A.D.2, August 13, 2:00 a.m.)  
  
(Unregistered noise. Time allotted 23 seconds.)  
  
  
  
Maybe...even Chikyuu is listening...  
  
  
  
This gap...this strange reality...It all seems so distant. The  
  
destruction and the corruption...  
  
To open your eyes is to see fire everywhere. Every face is contorted  
  
with the same cruel-fated expression. We are shattered with the same  
  
pain that has buried itself in your soul. Chikyuu, your blood runs  
  
rivers from your core, reaching out to touch the still hearts of the  
  
remaining population. You act like the vein that shares your poisoned  
  
blood with all who still remain.  
  
With all that have survived...  
  
Buildings lie in ruin. The streets lay in tatters, split against each  
  
other in strain. Bodies remain strewn across the destruction, like  
  
broken dolls. I see children weeping by their dead parent's  
  
carcasses, and the elderly slowly dieing in the shadows. Many  
  
adolescents now revolt, bringing on their pain against each other  
  
with spears and shields of agony. Putrid is not enough to describe  
  
the rank of lost souls within the depths of what we now all call hell.  
  
I hear you, Chikyuu...and we are not so misled. It was foretold. Many  
  
a man through time has seen fate it the so-called "crystal ball" of  
  
the mind. We were informed and we were warned of the inevitable, our  
  
future. Yet, no words could have ever described the rancid horror; no  
  
vision could have experienced your near shattering destruction, or  
  
the beat...the beat  
  
(Error. Error. Pause in file. Rewinding...00:65:02)  
  
Sigh. The dieing beat of my young heart as I watched it...as I  
  
watched...  
  
Nobody has anything anymore. No happiness, no hope...and dare I say,  
  
their fear may even be crushed. What more is there to be afraid of  
  
than death? Besides, in all of these circumstances, we seem to have  
  
lost as well as thrown away. We so share in this brutal pain that  
  
we've...we've become the same.  
  
(Pick up in volume. Raise 0.2.)  
  
All difference and discrimination, no matter what we the perceived  
  
image, has been thrown to the ground. It has left us with the same,  
  
dull existence, left us to share the same horrid fate! And, in the  
  
end...it is said we will share the same death.  
  
Humanity is coming to and end. An END, Chikyuu...I know you feel us  
  
die.  
  
Please remain...please remain...  
  
Until I find that miracle.  
  
We're going to do the unbelievable, Chikyuu.  
  
It's not going to end like this...  
  
No...  
  
(Program ceased. End - 05:06:02, 2:05 a.m.)  
  
"Isha-san?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Isha-san?...are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, imoto," he trailed. "I'm fine..."  
  
"You're crying," she stated, her voice nearing a whisper of concern.  
  
His body now sat hunched in the chair, pronouncing that he was  
  
truly...becoming old. One hand now covered his worn face, trying to  
  
hide the wetness that dribbled to his palm. But, censors could never  
  
be lied to.  
  
"These are tears that need to be shed," he simply stated. The program  
  
had fully removed itself, allowing her being to once again fill the  
  
whole of the screen.  
  
"Don't cry..."  
  
"You don't know what it was like." he shuddered, bringing his hand  
  
from his face and staring at the console in front of him. "Even you  
  
don't know what it was like...What it is like."  
  
"I think I'll call down an escort to your room..." she decided. Her  
  
eyes closed once again as if reaching back for some piece of  
  
information.  
  
"You don't know what it's like! You don't!" And he watched her  
  
virtual lids shoot back open again with subtle surprise. Yet, he  
  
continued.  
  
"To watch them all die? To live in this hell! My tears are like  
  
everyone else's...pooling into the agony of it all!"  
  
"Isha-san, calm down!"  
  
He stood, nearly falling over in the sudden movement, clutching at  
  
his cane to steady himself. His eyes narrowed and his light, gray-  
  
filled hair fell about his glasses in his rage. His shout echoed  
  
through the room, causing a few other machines to beep and chortle in  
  
response.  
  
"I've lost everything! Even you!" Her beautiful mouth closed into  
  
silence as those words left his lips.  
  
"You can't even call me...what I deserve to be called."  
  
She remained calm in the midst of his sudden outburst. Even as he  
  
fell quiet, she refused to utter a word.  
  
"Everything..." he whispered, his voice breaking under the emotional  
  
strain.  
  
"What is rightfully ours..."  
  
"Isha?"  
  
He glanced up into her massive face, noting the slightly confused  
  
expression in the bright blues. The trickling moisture was gone and  
  
only the redness in the whites of his eyes lingered, still giving him  
  
the appearance of tears. It was unusual for him to be expressing such  
  
a soft, touching emotion, let alone allowing tears to fall. In his  
  
own way, the doctor was like machine, cruel, cold and hard. He  
  
resembled his creations like they were his children...embracing them  
  
like kin. It made her circuits whine with a strange sensation to see  
  
him so fallen...so...  
  
"We will be victorious," he stated simply, not taking his gaze  
  
away. "Faith shall be our guide into the future of our souls."  
  
"We will prove to be the miracle..."  
  
"Faith will be our guide..." she repeated almost mechanically. Her  
  
head bowed with a smile, her circuits crackling and whisperings words  
  
of agreement and excitement.  
  
"Then I have faith in you..."  
  
The doctor blinked back his slight surprise. But, a smile was soon  
  
what wallowed across his thin, dry lips.  
  
"The world rests upon my shoulders."  
  
"I know, Isha-san..."  
  
"We are going to do the unthinkable...the unbelievable."  
  
She nodded briefly -softly, but completely.  
  
"It's going to be beautiful, imoto." Suddenly, he was standing again,  
  
bracing his large hands upon the ball of his cane. His long, white  
  
lab- coat wisped about his strangely muscled legs, clinging loosely  
  
to his elderly frame. He gave one last determined look to the  
  
gorgeous face before him...exchanging hidden expressions of his own  
  
anxiety for the coming day...before he pushed away from the console  
  
in front and turned his back to the final memory of his past. She  
  
smiled subtly as he stepped towards the only door to the laboratory,  
  
knowing how tired his feeble body was growing...and how much he  
  
needed the rest he so deserved.  
  
"I'm to turn in," he said, stopping just before he reached the metal  
  
blockage that would eventually lead him back to his quarters. Turning  
  
back, his eyes remained locked to the floor, knowing that she still  
  
watched him attentively. "I'll be back to access you later...We'll  
  
discuss more then."  
  
"I suppose," she whispered, her expression blank and dull. "But..."  
  
They both paused.  
  
"But, what?"  
  
"I..." She hesitated, forcing the doctor to raise an eye brow in his  
  
own curiosity. He stepped away from the door, removing his hand from  
  
the hard metallic surface to look at her questioningly. She merely  
  
stared back, searching her data banks for an excuse to her outburst.  
  
She came up with none.  
  
"But, what?" he repeated.  
  
For a moment, the visual screen which held her seemed to flicker with  
  
unseen error, distorting the beautiful image that she was. But, as  
  
soon as the problem had surfaced, it had disappeared, back within the  
  
system. Her mouth slowly opened.  
  
"Nothing...Merely a system error."  
  
"I don't believe you..." he frowned, planting his black shoes  
  
squarely on the ground. The point of his cane rested between them  
  
defiantly. "Besides, imoto," and he almost smiled. "Trust your  
  
Oniisan...You can tell me anything."  
  
She paused again. He pushed the statement, arching his brow a little  
  
higher beneath the length of his hair. And she sighed.  
  
"I don't...understand."  
  
"Understand? My words? My message?"  
  
"You describe it as...unbelievable...The unreachable...yet the only  
  
thing that is our final hope. It all seems to much a fantasy to me."  
  
"It's more than merely a fantasy, imoto," he corrected, the skin on  
  
his forehead pulling together. "We reach for the skies and the  
  
freedom...We reach towards the standing gates that hold us  
  
down...that have trapped us in our own damnation!"  
  
"But, is it within our reach?"  
  
"Believe me, I can almost feel it in our grasp," he whispered  
  
excitedly, seeming to delve into a world within his mind, his eyes  
  
growing slightly glazed with the chill that ran up the spine.  
  
"We're finally going to do it...  
  
"We're going to break down heaven's doors."  
  
His arm, as if acting on its own accord, quietly moved towards the  
  
door's access panel and abruptly de-mersed him from thought. Pushing  
  
against one of the buttons with his thumb, there was a light beep and  
  
the doors opened with an exhausted "whoosh". The light, once again  
  
bravely clawing in, dragged the bright shape of the doorway  
  
across the floor.  
  
She watched him walk through, a sort of awe glistening in her own  
  
eyes...  
  
It's going to be a glorious, new beginning," the doctor finished,  
  
turning back with his finger on another button. He paused,  
  
momentarily, deciphering the controlled emotion she emitted. Then,  
  
his mind satisfied, he turned his head  
  
"Good-night, imoto," he said. Her censors caught the slight whisper  
  
of the door, only to observe it close in his wake.  
  
"Good-night," she called before he had fully disappeared from view.  
  
No sooner, there was a click as the locks replaced themselves,  
  
shutting her within the walls that were her sanctuary.  
  
Slowly, lights everywhere began to fade, dipping lower and lower as  
  
they died, swirling down into the darkness of submission. They beeped  
  
and whined until their connection failed and the black consumed them  
  
like everything else...  
  
Her wires writhed up...The electricity running through her veins  
  
slowed to a near crawl. And she herself began to fall, everything  
  
else shutting down around her.  
  
"I'll be here," she murmured to no one in particular, knowing the  
  
doctor was more than out of ear-shot. Still, the words felt good on  
  
her non- existent lips.  
  
"...like always..." The smile upon her face faded back into the  
  
expressionless void as she spoke. "Have a good rest. Hopefully, the  
  
morning shall be a new awakening...For us all."  
  
The woman's head bowed, final words emerged, while virtual hair  
  
cascaded down over her face and the glow that was her essence, died  
  
with complete disconnection.  
  
~Sleep tight...Oniisan...~  
  
Ultimately, her last breath fell sluggishly...before the room pitched  
  
into pure darkness once again.  
  
  
  
To be continued in chapter one - Earth's Corruption. The dragonball  
  
team faces a startling final Armageddon. But, who is to survive? 


End file.
